The Dark Knight Rises----again
by Ray Rider
Summary: In the midst of the Battle of New York another hero surfaces as he aids the Avengers in the fight against the Chitauri. Bruce/Selina. Despite the title, not a parody. Oneshot.


As The Avengers broke the circle they had formed in the middle of New York Iron Man couldn't help but wince at the odds. He'd once said that Iron Man could do the job of an army, as he looked around himself today he could tell that was not the case. Even with the mighty powers of Thor and Hulk it seemed impossible that six people could defeat an entire alien army. If only Fury had a few more agents who were just as capable as Romanoff and Barton.

"I take the ones on the right, you take the ones on the left?" He said jokingly to his... teammates for want of a better word. He only received five super powered glares in response.

He cursed Rhodey for being away in Afghanistan, he could have used the added muscle, not to mention someone who would actually crack a smile at his jokes.

"Hey Romanoff, Barton, can't Fury get us any air support?" He asked the two SHIELD agents through the comm system.

"You realize I can hear you, right?" Fury's voice came in through the comm link.

"Nicky!" Tony cried in mock enthusiasm. "Where've you been, you don't call, you don't write, you don't even send flowers." He waited for the laughter. It never came. "Tell me you got some air support because I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that can fly."

"Mjolnir grants me the power of flight Stark." Thor said, irritated at Tony's assumption as he swatted away an alien with his hammer.

Fury's voice came back through Tony's internal speakers.

"I'll see what I can do but the council is refusing to send any troops to New York, they're assessing the-" Fury cut himself off. "What's that sound?"

Indeed there was a sound from Tony's side. Though it wasn't too loud it could somehow still be heard through the screams of the alien invasion.

"Is that a...tank?" Captain America's voice came uncertainly through the comm system.

Indeed there in the distance was a large armored vehicle ploughing through the hordes of aliens. For perhaps the first time in his life Tony Stark couldn't believe his eyes.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Evidently Fury had seen the tank like vehicle through some CCTV footage and was going to the residential expert on advice.

"Seeing, still believing."

"Isn't he supposed to be, oh I don't know, dead?" Barton said bluntly, joining the conversation.

"It might be his successor, that new vigilante calling himself Nightwing though last I heard he was still in Gotham." Fury replied.

Captain America's voice came through the comm system though Tony doubted if he'd even been paying attention to the conversation. Come to think of it how had Steve managed to even figure out how to use the comm link?

"Thanks for the air support Fury. You sure took your damn time."

"Air support...?" Fury trailed off. Using SHIELD technology he viewed all the other CCTV footage in New York trying to locate Captain America. Within a few seconds he found him on Houston street and there, a few hundred feet above him in the sky was an aircraft which they'd all thought destroyed, it's black bat like structure floating intimidatingly.

"How can he be at two places at once?" Black Widow asked her boss, deciphering from the parts of the conversation what was going on. Steve however did not receive the same espionage training as Romanoff and so queried:

"You guys mind telling me what's going on. I don't see what's wrong with having a SHIELD aircraft backing me up."

"It's because that's not a SHIELD vehicle. That belongs to a third party. Stark, have you tried actually analyzing them for any signs of life?" Fury said, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, forgot about that." Tony said sheepishly before proceeding to analyze both vehicles. "Well, would you look at that. They're both being controlled remotely, I can't find out exactly where. This tech actually rivals mine." Tony said the last part in a huffing manner.

"So should we assume it's Nightwing or-" Barton was cut off as Thor finally figured out how to use the mortal communications device.

"MORTAL FRIENDS, IT IS ME THOR!" Thor bellowed through the comm link.

"Yeah, hi Thor. No need to shout so loudly." Tony said, wincing as he lowered the volume on his internal speakers.

"OK friend Stark. I have a query. Is it common for a swarm of bats to appear in the middle of the path which you mortals call a street?"

Ironically the sun chose to go down at that exact time, shrouding the city in darkness. What a coincidence, could it be some higher power directing things behind the scene? **(AN: Hi everyone!)**

"WHAT!" came the chorused voices of Fury, Stark, Romanoff, Barton and even Rogers who knew that no matter what time you were in, it was never normal for bats to be seen in a city as populated as New York.

Thor frowned. "I recall you telling me that there was no need to speak with such volume when communicating or did I perhaps mishear?"

The Avengers ignored Thor and instead focused on the swarm of bats.

"It can't be..." Fury whispered.

The Chitauri looked at the bats in confusion, they'd been told that the only enemies were human ones. But no matter, the hive minded beings thought, it would be easy to destroy those creatures. But something deep withing them stirred, an emotion which they thought they'd never feel: Fear.

The bats dispersed but due to the darkness of the city The Avengers nor the aliens could see what it was that they had been protecting, only the outline. Immediately the Chitauri were on guard, they'd been taught to fear the dark, it was the source of their master's power and their master was someone to fear.

A black blur smashed into one of the Chitauri, sending it into the floor and knocking it out for the remainder of the fight. But the blur wasn't done yet, using it's momentum from the first alien it propelled itself onto another alien's shoulders, thereby breaking both arms.

Twisting in midair he landed on the head of another one which rendered that particular Chitauri unconscious.

Still not done yet he landed in the middle of a circle of six Chitauri. Due to the fact that he was too close for them to fire at properly without hitting each other the aliens discarded their weapons and proceed to fight him hand to hand, confident that six against one was sufficient enough to bring down this being.

It seemed that that was a mistake as the black blur managed to defeat the six aliens without even breaking a sweat. He blocked and dodged, all in a blur of movement as he sent punches to the enemies ribs, heads and torsos, defeating all six in under half a minute. In his fight he had been forced away from the relative darkness of the area that he was in and was now standing under a street light.

There stood The Batman in all his dark glory.

* * *

"The looks on their faces! Priceless!" A female voice could be heard cackling in a dark cavern. "I'm taking a screenshot for the album. You don't mind do you Bruce?" Selina asked innocently.

"Not at all." Bruce said through the communications device in his cowl, struggling to hold his laughter in as well at the expressions of the group which SHIELD had assembled. Luckily he was too far away for The Avengers to see that he was talking to someone. "Shouldn't you be more focused on driving the tumbler?" Bruce asked, the hint of a smile playing at his lips.

"You worry too much. Me and Alfred have got the Tumbler and the Bat under control. Right Alfred?"

"Right Miss Kyle." Alfred said, smiling at the banter between his employer and this young lady who had lightened up his ward's life.

Selina turned back to the conversation with Bruce and her tone turned into a rare mood of seriousness. "But I should be there with you Bruce. What if something happens?"

"No." Bruce's no nonsense voice came over her earpiece. "You really think you can fight in your condition?"

Selina looked down at her bulging stomach and just shook her head. "No, I guess not." She turned to Alfred. "How many times has he come back from the dead now?" She asked him, back to her usual playful self.

"By my count it's five now." He said, trying to keep himself from chuckling.

"Hey!" Bruce's voice said indignantly. "You all just _assumed_ I was dead. Not my fault you guys can't check properly." The three of them laughed for a few seconds. "I'm surprised at you Alfred. I thought you would have objected to me doing this again." He said, talking about taking up the mantle of Batman.

"No sir, I merely stated that you should acquire a life as well." He looked at Selina. "Who said you couldn't have the best of both worlds?"

"I'm approaching the team, radio silence from hear on in." Bruce said.

* * *

"Is it normal for a man to dress up as a bat?" Steve asked the other Avengers. The incredulous looks on their faces was all the answer he needed.

As the Batman walked towards the group another alien came up behind him. Before the group could even warn the vigilante of the threat he grabbed the spear which was thrusted at him and brought it up into the sky, the alien dangling by the edge of the staff. The Batman brought both the staff and the alien down to the floor, smashing the staff into pieces and most likely breaking the spine of the Chitauri. All this was done without even turning any other part of his body other than his arm.

The Batman was heading towards them at a steady pace, defeating all the aliens which were coming at him. Come to think of it it seemed as if all the Chitauri were heading towards the Batman, none of them giving any heed towards the Avengers. Even with dozens of aliens on him the Batman was still able to hold his own, incapacitating dozens within a few seconds, never seeming to tire.

When Barton looked at Romanoff he noticed that she seemed to be sweating and was gripping her gun tightly.

"You OK there 'Tasha?" He asked her. She nodded shakily in response.

"Th-those are techniques," She replied in a hoarse whisper. "They're taught by the League of Shadows. I-I didn't know he was trained by them." Barton looked at her in shock, surprised at the information.

They'd all heard about how Batman had defeated Ra's al Ghul, the most wanted man on the planet but none of them had known that Batman had been trained by Ra's himself. The reason for Natasha's agitation was due to the reputation that the League of Shadows had built, it was because of them that she had become what she was today, they were the ones who had burnt down her village in Russia, seeing it as irredeemable. She alone had survived while she watched Ra's al Ghul kill everyone she knew.

"_**Looks like you could use a little help.**_" The dark imposing figure said as he joined the group.

"Dude, that must be killer on the vocal cords." Iron Man joked, trying to lighten up the mood as the heroes were all assaulted by the Chitauri once again.

But unlike Stark the rest of the team, even Thor and Hulk on some level, felt themselves shiver. That voice, it was the sound of darkness, of the void, of death itself, it was the voice of a demon who would never be defeated. They were glad to know that it was on their side.

* * *

The battle was won and they had all made it. The Avengers had been surprised to see that the Batman had stuck around but upon realization that he most probably wanted to talk to Loki they followed him on his way to the tower.

During the battle The Avengers had thought that despite his impressive entrance the Batman would prove to be more of a liability than an asset. They had been proven wrong when he managed to engage the army of New York which totaled around six hundred. Even the super powered Avengers had been more than impressed, particularly Steve because while the Captain had taken the shortcut to achieve peak human conditioning the Batman had reached, perhaps even surpassed, Steve's capabilities the old fashioned way.

When they reached the tower Tony offered to The Dark Knight:

"Need a-" He was cut off when the Batman took out his grappling gun and shot it at the top of Stark Tower before disappearing from view. "-lift?" Tony finished.

It was embarrassing to have Tony fly him to the roof of the tower but at least he wasn't in Hawkeye's position because while he and Widow were carried by Iron Man and Thor, Barton had the ill fortune of being held in the arms of Hulk as he jumped an impossible height to the Stark roof.

When they got there they were met with the sight of Loki looking at the Batman in apprehension.

"Ahhh, The Dark Knight." Loki said, a grin starting to plaster itself across his face. "Barton has told me so much about you." Clint tried not to flinch. "Did you know Fury wanted you as part of his little club?" He was met with silence. "His superiors however felt that your methods were too dark and wouldn't look good on the public."

It was disconcerting how still the Batman was, it seemed that he hadn't even breathed, even to Steve's enhanced abilities.

"Now, why would an organization feel that you are too dangerous when they are happy to recruit a mindless beast such as this." Loki said, indicating Hulk who stepped forward, no doubt to cause harm to Loki but was stopped by the calming hand of Captain America. "For that matter why would a man parade around as a bat, defending a city which is beyond redemption."

It happened too fast for the human eye to see because one moment both Loki and Batman were standing there in the middle of a one sided conversation and the next Loki was dangling from the edge of the roof, the only thing stopping him from falling to his death was the titanium cable from Batman's grappling gun. To add to the shock of the matter the God of Mischief even let out a tiny uncharacteristic scream but quickly silenced himself.

"**Who sent** **you**?" Batman said in the voice he left only for the most feared of criminals causing the Avengers to take a step back.

Despite their fear however the Avengers were confused. They had assumed that Loki had been working on his own and the army belonged to him. But what if Loki wasn't the one calling the shots? What if he was just a lackey? Someone following the orders of a person much more powerful than him.

Loki gulped but then steeled his features. "What makes you think I'll talk? Even if I did fall from this height I'll survive, I am a god after all. But it wouldn't come to that would it?" He said, eyeing Gotham's savior. "You have rules don't you? You'll never take the life of a man, whether he is innocent or guilty."

A moment of silence. "**I only have one rule.**" The caped crusader said. "**And the fall would hurt****.**" He added before letting go of a button on his grappling gun which sent Loki hurtling towards the street at an incredible speed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!" Could be heard throughout the city of New York, the echo bouncing off the empty streets.

Thor took a step forward to reprimand the Batman. "That is my brother that you are-" He was cut off when Batman leveled a gaze at him causing Thor to take a step back and let out a tiny whimper.

Loki appeared again as the grappling line pulled him back up, fortunately for him he was in good condition as Batman had pulled him up just before he hit the ground. That didn't mean that he was in good condition mentally though. In fact, he was visibly shaking and pale.

"**Who sent you?**" Batman asked once again, confident that he would receive an answer.

"Th-Th-Thanos." Loki stuttered. Batman narrowed his eyes as Thor gasped.

"**From Saturn's moon**?" Batman asked causing Loki to nod his head vigorously.

"H-How do you know about Thanos? No ordinary human has the knowledge you have."

"**Do I look ordinary?**"

"N-N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Loki's voice was drowned out as he hurtled towards the streets below once more but stopped just before he hit the ground.

At that moment a SHIELD SWAT team busted through the door and The Avengers turned to see Nick Fury in the lead, decked out in body armour. It was interesting to note that his subordinates seemed a little nervous, flexing their fingers over their guns and huddling together.

"Where is he?" He asked, urgency in his voice.

"The Batman?" Barton asked. "He's right over..." They turned to where the Batman had been to see only empty space. "...there."

The Batman was gone.

* * *

**AN: Just a little something to celebrate the fact that we all lived through Doomsday.**

**I know many of you will probably have complaints regarding this fic such as how Batman is DC and Avengers are Marvel. or how Batman wouldn't fare well in the Battle of New York or how Batman knows about Thanos or even how Loki wouldn't be scared of Batman.  
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**I couldn't care less. This story was just to show the awesomeness that is Batman and nothing else. For those of you who don't like the fact that is an equal, maybe more to Captain America then open your eyes. Captain America isn't super human, he's just at the peak of human capability, something which Batman also is.  
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**On Christmas day I'm going to publish the first chapter of my Harry Potter/Smallville crossover, check it out if you're interested.  
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**Oh and more thing, it's just a small thing, nothing big... REVIEW! ****REVIEW!****REVIEW!****REVIEW!****REVIEW!****REVIEW!****REVIEW!****REVIEW!****REVIEW!****REVIEW!**  



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